Phone subscribers usually have more than one phone. For example, a subscriber typically has both a home phone and an office phone, and many subscribers have other phones such as cellular or car phones. The different phones for a particular subscriber often have different voice mail systems, such as one voice mail system for an office phone and another for a home phone.
In a traditional voice mail system, a subscriber receives an indication of a pending message at the terminal or phone that was called. For example, if a caller leaves a voice mail message at a subscriber's office phone, the subscriber receives an indication of the pending message at only the office phone. Likewise, if a caller leaves a message when calling a subscriber's home phone, the subscriber receives an indication of the pending message at only the home phone. Because subscribers only receive message indicators at the phone that was called, they may experience a delay in receiving indications of their pending messages. Thus, they may not know that they have a message unless, for example, they are physically present at their phone. It is often possible for a subscriber to call a particular voice mail system to check for pending messages. However, that option may inconvenience subscribers, particularly if they are associated with multiple voice mail systems.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved system for providing indications of messages to a subscriber having multiple phones.